Josh Kerr pulling up NAU’s schedule right now to make sure he doesn’t run at the same meets as Nico.
Duck duck Kerr!!!
Are you two slow twitchers talking about the same Josh Kerr that mowed down 17 time NCAA champion and record holder Ed Cheserek for the 2017 indoor mile championships??
Awesome result for Nico! Not sure I would give as much weight to the conversion chart though. Similarly to us lessening those conversions to kenyan competitions at altitude, Nico has been at altitude for a few years and most likely is a little more accustomed to it
There has to be some truth to this. Abel Kipsang ran 3:31.01 in Nairobi in 2022 and he hasn’t run 3:25.xx or whatever it was supposed to convert to.
It's not because he's used to altitude, it's because for some athletes, raw speed is the limiting factor over aerobic ability.
Based on the BU result a couple months ago and now this, it’s fair to say Nico is due for another big break. The most obvious is a title. I do hope he can manage to snag at least one.
I do think people are right the 3:48 conversion is pretty generous. Something tells me Nico is more like a 3:52 guy. Still, I wonder how competitive he might be at the trials 5000 this summer?
Luis G. has tried to break 4 several times in Flag since turning Pro... The fact that Nico just smashed it, Does bode well for a crazy fast 5k (especially given Nico's wiring). Who's gonna be the first NCAA guy to dip under 13? It's coming quite soon!
I’d put my money on Graham Blanks. He smoked everyone last few months and looks to be gaining confidence. Plus he’s going to be “all in” on the 5k this season as he is one of the 3 Americans with the Olympic standard
You guys remember when OAC had like 6 guys under 4 at altitude last year in training? Probably at like 2k lower elevation, Nuguse ran 3:57 I think, and he ran 3:47i a bit later, and Hoare and Romo were both around 3:50. Hoare had been living at altitude for a couple years at that point too. Time trial at 5k feet vs a race at 7k feet, plus Nico was WAY ahead of 2nd.
I don't know if Nico is really gonna be able to hold 57s (though I hope he gives it a shot soon), but I think this points to him being able to hold 60s for a lot longer than a mile. 7:37 3k with a huge kick pointed to a faster time, but 7:30 seems a whole lot more realistic now.
Awesome result for Nico! Not sure I would give as much weight to the conversion chart though. Similarly to us lessening those conversions to kenyan competitions at altitude, Nico has been at altitude for a few years and most likely is a little more accustomed to it
There has to be some truth to this. Abel Kipsang ran 3:31.01 in Nairobi in 2022 and he hasn’t run 3:25.xx or whatever it was supposed to convert to.
Agreed. Nico young can’t run 3:48. I hope he can but living at altitude relatively full time has to impact what someone’s conversion really is.
There has to be some truth to this. Abel Kipsang ran 3:31.01 in Nairobi in 2022 and he hasn’t run 3:25.xx or whatever it was supposed to convert to.
It's not because he's used to altitude, it's because for some athletes, raw speed is the limiting factor over aerobic ability.
Please stop. There is some validity to what you assert but you spoil it with ignorance. Of course his habituation to high altitude provides mitigation in relation to the deleterious impact of the thinner air. Surely you can be educated about this. Adaptation occurs to some degree, just as with heat.
Gotta Love the long term plan of Mike Smith for Nico and what he has him doing indoors. Same for the Sahlmans and how he has them running the 400. Don't be scared to be different. But with Nico, this is translating to some excellent time trialing and no one can argue against that. This result is awesome! But can he do it when racing in trials or the last lap of championship races? Can he change gears when he has to or does he even have it in him to do so? And don't get me wrong....I'm a big Newbury Park fan. Time trialing and racing are 2 different things. Especially when you get multiple athletes with similar abilities occupying the same space.
Wasn’t it like yesterday when it was a big deal when German Fernandez ran 3:55???? Geez
That was as at 18 years and 2 months old. In old school spikes.
Nico’s senior-age (22?) now.
Indeed. I think many will have a hard time getting over that performance for likely 3 reasons:
1. Difference in age and tech you pointed out.
2. Bias to our time periods and age at witnessing of performance as well as relative outlier to precursors.
3. German was a man of glass. That’s probably not true, yet as someone with far less talent and similar frustrations, there is always that “what if?” Yes it’s true for everyone, yet when you see massive success in limited time and input, it is often inevitable to expect that further aerobic development and strength will lead to even greater performances. Even if you put a “light” ceiling on German, it is easy to picture him running high 3:40s for the mile when he suited skillset seemed to reflect highest success in the 3k-5k range. Performances just keep perking up these days, yet it’s easy to imagine that had the health been figured out and properly strung together he is a sub 7:30 and sub 12:50 guy. You can never truly forecast response though, and that just continues to play intro he myth of “what if?”
Do these “conversations” ever pan out? Every year some dude in the mountains runs 3:5x and then gets dusted at natty’s. Imma call it now, Nico ain’t breaking 3:54 this year.
It seems to vary somewhat from runner to runner, but I remember people were skeptical of Christian Soratos back when he ran his altitude mile, and that dude backed it up at NCAA's
Gotta Love the long term plan of Mike Smith for Nico and what he has him doing indoors. Same for the Sahlmans and how he has them running the 400. Don't be scared to be different. But with Nico, this is translating to some excellent time trialing and no one can argue against that. This result is awesome! But can he do it when racing in trials or the last lap of championship races? Can he change gears when he has to or does he even have it in him to do so? And don't get me wrong....I'm a big Newbury Park fan. Time trialing and racing are 2 different things. Especially when you get multiple athletes with similar abilities occupying the same space.
I guess his plan didn’t include Nico running well in cross country. Changing gears will come from improved fitness and why is he having NXN champions running 400s? Having a 5/10K run a 1500m is not revolutionary and most coaches can handle having multiple good athletes.
You’re gushing over nothing at all.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
You guys remember when OAC had like 6 guys under 4 at altitude last year in training? Probably at like 2k lower elevation, Nuguse ran 3:57 I think, and he ran 3:47i a bit later, and Hoare and Romo were both around 3:50. Hoare had been living at altitude for a couple years at that point too. Time trial at 5k feet vs a race at 7k feet, plus Nico was WAY ahead of 2nd.
I don't know if Nico is really gonna be able to hold 57s (though I hope he gives it a shot soon), but I think this points to him being able to hold 60s for a lot longer than a mile. 7:37 3k with a huge kick pointed to a faster time, but 7:30 seems a whole lot more realistic now.
Thank you for remembering and pointing out that Nico has developed a good kick . . . as his 27.+/200 closer at BU last month attests.
Galen Rupp didn't have a kick for many years . . . until he did.
And now Nico . . . who looks like he's become the complete package as a distance runner.
Gotta Love the long term plan of Mike Smith for Nico and what he has him doing indoors. Same for the Sahlmans and how he has them running the 400. Don't be scared to be different. But with Nico, this is translating to some excellent time trialing and no one can argue against that. This result is awesome! But can he do it when racing in trials or the last lap of championship races? Can he change gears when he has to or does he even have it in him to do so? And don't get me wrong....I'm a big Newbury Park fan. Time trialing and racing are 2 different things. Especially when you get multiple athletes with similar abilities occupying the same space.
Smith is very long term in his plans and if an athlete is patient it pays off. aside from Nico, another big story last night was Maggi Cogdon now first in the nation in the mile. her progression since coming to NAU has risen every year.
and Theo Quax, who ran a 4:03 mile last night and he's not really a miler. he's a mid distance guy, always has been. but there he is crushing it last night. good to mix it up and try different things occasionally.
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